Uber driver-partners in Nigeria have continued to generate additional net income, as they witness a noticeable boost in earnings based on the fare reduction that was implemented in May this year.

The fare reduction has not only been beneficial to driver-partners, as their earnings remain strong, but riders too are benefiting from a reliable product at a lower price.

Recall that in July, Uber officially declared open its world-class Greenlight Hub at the Maryland Mall, Lagos; a strategic move that provides a state of the art support centre, where driver-partners can receive technical and real-time assistance to their inquiries or concerns.

With an average support time of eight minutes per inquiry, driver-partners have seen 50 per cent drop in wait times, and an improved, highly efficient way to receive customer support.

The General Manager, sub-Saharan Africa, Uber, Alon Lits, said the company is excited by the results of the fare reductions implemented earlier this year, saying that driver-partners on the Uber App have seen an increase in their net earnings within the last quarter.

Lits said: “Due to the lower fare prices, there has been an increase in demand and reliability for riders whilst increasing strong earnings for driver-partners in Nigeria.”

He revealed that Uber has recorded an estimated time of arrival moving closer to seven minutes over the last three months, which essentially means that driver-partners are connecting to riders in less time, wait times have reduced, and more time is being spent on earning, with a paying passenger in the driver-partners vehicles.

Despite the progress, he said the taxi company remains committed to continuously improving, and is always looking to improve the experience for both driver-partners and riders.

“We have also ensured that driver-partners receive incentives to until target levels of efficiency have been achieved. We continue to see us getting closer to these levels each week,” he added.

He restated the company’s commitment to assisting driver-partners to maximise earnings, saying Uber has put in place a number of key initiatives that ensure driver-partners save money and remain profitable.

According to him, an example of an initiative that positively impacts the driver-partners is its partnership with Germaine Auto care; where, for as little as N3,000, they are provided with vehicle maintenance services in Lagos.

“This means that they do not have to spend an excess or additional funds maintaining or repairing their vehicles. Another example is our partnership with AXA Mansard Insurance where all driver-partners are covered by world-class Insurance in the event of injury, accident or death, at no cost to them,” he disclosed.